Leisure Outdoor Adventures (LOA) is a world class fishing, hunting, outdoor, outfitting business. If it's a guided fishing trip on one of Minnesota's beautiful lakes or pheasant hunt in the prairie of North Dakota we can help! Book a trip with Leisure Outdoor Adventures and "GET HOOKED" on an adventure of a lifetime.

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Monday, April 23, 2012

Brainerd Lakes Crappie Report

April 22nd, 2012

I was on the water today with Brainerd Lakes panfish guru and friend of Leisure Outdoor Adventures, Paul (Pablo) Manecke. Pablo and I were intent on finding crappies somewhere in the Brainerd Lakes Area and we were not going to stop until we did! We had a game plan with fellow guides Tim Hanske and Jason Freed to check a few lakes, see what the temp was and see what the crappies wanted. Pablo and I started on Sylvan Lake, water temps were anywhere from 46-49, and we could not get the crappies to go after an hour on the water. We next headed to a lake that Tim and Jason were fishing and had found success. So much of fishing is letting the fish tell you what they want and Tim Hanske put the pieces of the puzzle together today! Tim put on quite clinic using a white puddle jumper, 5' Jason Mitchell Ultra Light rod and slick casting Shimano reel spooled with light 4lb fireline and a fluorocarbon leader. These fish wanted it slowly reeled or give it a simple pop to give those puddle jumpers legs some life like action. Plastics way outperformed live bait today and that is sometimes how it goes. You could still get them with a minnow but they were far more finicky when you had minnow below your float. The key is to let the fish tell you what they want each time out and be prepared to adapt on the water. Thanks to our friends at The Checkered Flag, we had both minnows and puddle jumpers so we were able to adapt.
If you want to get in on some of this great early season action, give us a call at 1-855-LOA-HOOK or visit our website Leisure Outdoor Adventures!